UPDATE:The charges against Ms. Parrish were withdrawn by the Crown in November.

An Ontario justice of the peace has ordered former Mississauga councillor Carolyn Parrish to appear in court this fall on six election-finance charges tied to the 2011 byelection she lost to rival Bonnie Crombie.

The case centres on the rent Ms. Parrish paid for her campaign office, which elector Greg Vezina says was inappropriately low. He appeared before the court to argue his case, and this week, a justice of the peace agreed to proceed with charges. The matter in now in the Crown’s hands.

The order comes on the heels of a June ruling from Justice Bruce Duncan that overturned a decision by the city’s election finances committee and ordered an audit of Ms. Parrish’s election spending. That audit is still pending, as Ms. Parrish has appealed.

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“I am a little concerned that the expense and time involved for two parallel cases is wasteful for the taxpayers and a misuse of valuable court time,” Ms. Parrish said Wednesday, noting the charges caught her by surprise and may have been politically motivated. “Mr. Vezina is using a scatter-gun approach, hoping one of the bullets will connect… . I did nothing whatsoever wrong in my electoral returns.”

Mr. Vezina denied any political subtext, saying it was important to ensure candidates followed the rules.

“I have been an outspoken advocate for democracy and fair elections for three decades… My motivation to proceed against Ms. Parrish was simply based on her obviously inappropriate [rent],” Mr. Vezina said.

Ms. Parrish declared $750 as a rent expense for her 2011 campaign office at Bristol and Mavis roads, which she occupied for about two months. Mr. Vezina says that is a fraction of what she should have paid for commercial space in the area. He also accuses Ms. Parrish of exceeding the campaign spending limit, filing incorrect documentation and accepting a contribution over the legal limit.

Ms. Parrish pointed out that the space she rented for her campaign was awaiting a new tenant, and the landlord offered it to her for essentially nothing. Instead, she treated it as a “donation in kind,” issuing a receipt for $750. She paid hundreds more for insurance and utilities, she said.

In ordering the audit two months ago, Judge Duncan called the arrangement “unusual and singular,” citing “reasonable grounds” for Mr. Vezina’s belief that Ms. Parrish violated the Municipal Elections Act.